After a landmark Third Circuit victory, FPC now urges the Supreme Court to hold New Jersey’s petition pending a decision in FPC’s Viramontes case.
Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced today that it filed a response brief with the United States Supreme Court in Davenport v. Cheeseman, defending its historic victory against New Jersey’s unconstitutional bans on common semiautomatic rifles and firearm magazines. The filing asks the Court to hold New Jersey’s petition for review until it decides FPC’s landmark Viramontes v. Cook County case, which will be argued before the Supreme Court on December 2.
In July, the en banc (full-court) U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit delivered a groundbreaking victory for FPC and its fellow challengers, becoming the first federal appellate court in American history to strike down a ban on so-called “assault weapons” under the Second Amendment. The court also held that New Jersey’s ban on commonly possessed firearm magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition violates the Constitution.
The historic decision rejected New Jersey’s attempt to prohibit an entire class of popular semiautomatic rifles, including AR-15s, and recognized that the Second Amendment protects magazines commonly possessed for lawful purposes. The court further rejected New Jersey’s historical justifications for these categorical bans.
New Jersey has now petitioned the Supreme Court to review that decision. But with the Justices already preparing to hear Viramontes, which presents the same fundamental question concerning bans on AR-15s and similar semiautomatic rifles, the State has asked the Court to hold the petition until it issues its decision. FPC agrees that the Supreme Court should hold the petition—but emphatically maintains that the Third Circuit correctly decided the case.
“New Jersey lost before the full Third Circuit, and we’re not giving back an inch of that win. No amount of legal maneuvering by these tyrants changes the fact that New Jersey’s bans on common semiautomatic rifles and magazines are unconstitutional. Now, with our Viramontes case being heard by the Supreme Court in just a few weeks, we’re positioned to take that victory nationwide. FPC has spent years building the precedent, fighting these cases, and driving toward a national ruling that will end these bans once and for all. FPC and our Grassroots Army will continue to Fight Forward until every unconstitutional arms ban is eliminated, full stop,” said FPC President Brandon Combs.
The Cheeseman victory is a central part of FPC’s deliberate nationwide strategy to eliminate unconstitutional arms bans through original historical research, strategic litigation, and precedent-setting victories. FPC’s nationwide campaign to eliminate laws that deny access to Second Amendment-protected arms includes cases in New York, Maryland, California, Virginia, Delaware, Colorado, and Washington. That campaign has already produced major results, including FPC’s landmark district court victory against California’s so-called “assault weapon” ban in Miller v. Bonta, the historic en banc Third Circuit victory in Cheeseman, and the recent historic victory over New York’s body-armor ban in Heeter v. James.
Now, through Viramontes, FPC is asking the Supreme Court to establish a nationwide constitutional rule protecting commonly possessed semiautomatic rifles from categorical government bans. A favorable ruling would have far-reaching implications for FPC’s continuing challenges to prohibited arms and other unconstitutional restrictions throughout the United States.
The Cheeseman plaintiffs, including FPC and two individual FPC members, are represented by David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson, and William V. Bergstrom of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, along with Bradley Lehman of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, LLC.
FPC thanks its Grassroots Army members and supporters for making this historic litigation possible. Individuals who want to join FPC and support its lawsuits, research, and other programs to restore liberty can join the FPC Grassroots Army at JoinFPC.org.
About Firearms Policy Coalition: Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) is a nonprofit membership organization that exists to create a world of maximal individual liberty and eliminate unconstitutional gun control laws. FPC works—and wins—for the People through high-impact strategic litigation, groundbreaking research, legislative and regulatory advocacy, grassroots activism, education, and public engagement. FPC’s legal division, FPC Law, is the nation’s leading initiative dedicated to restoring the right to keep and bear arms across the United States. To learn more about how FPC is working—and winning—for the People, sign up for FPC news alerts at firearmspolicy.org and follow FPC on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
